I ♥ jidoohanbaiki. Japanese vending machines.

No, I don't have a love affair with vending machines but from all that I've read and been told, Japanese do.  They  are obsessed with the machines which are known in Japanese as "jidoohanbaiki".

A colleague of mine, who recently returned from Japan, told me that vending machines are e-v-e-r-ywhere in Japan and in the most unexpected of places. I have to admit, I'm fascinated by their fascination.

The history/trivia nut that I am, I can't write a posting on the Japanese love of vending machines without first doing a history check.   I don't know how the historians figured this out but I read that the first known vending machine was a pneumatically driven holy water vending machine in an Egyptian temple in Alexandria in 215 B.C.   Too funny....selling holy water from a machine.

In Japan, vending machines were introduced during the Meiji Era (1868-1912).  Although there was interest in vending machines during the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 when there was a need to supply large numbers of people with a number of goods and not enough space or people to provide the needed stuff, they didn't really took off in Japan until1970s, after the technology to serve both hot and cold drinks was developed.

As in many other parts of the world, drinks are common items sold in the vending machines and although Japanese vending machines selling drinks account for around half the machines in Japan, everything from foodstuffs to literature to entertainment to clothing and gifts can also be bought from a vending machine. Food sold via machine might be as simple as instant ramen (hot and ready to eat!) or as complex as a whole meal.

But the Japanese have taken the concept of selling stuff from a vending machine to an entirely new level.  It seems like if you can stuff an item into a container no larger than a bread box, you can sell it from a vending machine.  Apparently, you can even buy clothing from machine - everything from hats and shirts to (believe it or not) underwear!

It's no wonder then that according to the Japan Vending Machine Manufacturers Association, there are 5.51 million machines in Japan, taking a total of nearly 7 trillion yen (around $ 58 billion) a year!

Here are some of the quirky vending machine items I came across when reading up on their obsession.

Here's a machine that dispenses bread in a can. 

This one sells Dole bananas.  How cute is that?

Need to pick up some eggs on your way home?  There's a vending machine for you.

Need to pick up a game and maybe some snacks? Try a vending machine.

Lost your cellphone?  No worries.  Just cough up some yen to a vending machine.

It's raining cats and dogs and you've left your umbrella at home.  Vending machine to the rescue!



New to town and you need a map? Monitan's are the machines for you!  Featuring touch screen monitors, Monitan vending machines offer area maps, info about local dining and entertainment establishments, route guidance for how to get from here to there, train schedules and City Office news. When potential customers approach the machine, the monitor comes to life with animated instructions and commercials for local sponsors.  It sees you coming!



Left your wallet at home and you're dying for a snack from the machine? Pay with your phone!

And no, this SMART car vending machine does not dispense the car but rather an informational pamphlet about the car.  Clever marketing.

. .

Not surprisingly, there are machines that also sell items that minors are prohibited from buying such as cigarettes and alcohol.  But how to prevent that from happening?  Count on the Japanese to solve that problem.  A Japanese company called Fujitaka has introduced a “Child Check System” for cigarette vending machines that uses facial recognition. It then compares the face with 100,000 faces in the vending machines database after taking a digital photograph of the consumer.

Thirsty and out of cash? Don't worry, Japan's revolutionary MediCafe dispenses "free" beverages it doles out free drinks as a reward for you watching an 15-20 second ad play on its built-in video screen.  Japanese are brilliant at marketing!

So, why are the Japanese so obsessed with vending machines?? According to Takashi Kurosaki, director-general of JVMA, "Vending machines spread in Japan because of people's demand for automation. Leaving aside the issue of whether this is good or bad, people clearly want to purchase things without having to talk to others."  I don't think vending machines are popular because the Japanese are anti-social.  I think it's simply because they are so darn convenient.  I read somewhere else that the popularity of the vending machines in Japan has to do with the country's relative immunity from vandalism, its cash-based culture -- but especially "Japanese people's fascination with machines."  If I lived in Japan, I think I would be hooked on them too!

However, along with their popularity, there's also criticism of vending machines. For one thing, environmental issues. With millions of machines running nonstop day and night, concern has been raised about the amount of electricity being consumed.

Apparently, reduced energy consumption vending machines are standard and fluorocarbon free ones are in the works, but out this prototype from Fuji Electric.  A machine with solar panels to supply the energy used for cooling and heating the beverages while the moss covering helps improve insulation.  Leave it to the ever so innovative Japanese to come up with this idea!

It's easy for me to see why the Japanese love their vending machines.  They do serve a serious purpose in that they obviously dispense goods and food stuff that the Japanese consumers need but at some level, I think they're simply fun! I think I'm going to enjoy dropping some yen into a few when I roam around Japan!

The beauty and peace of origami. The crane and Sadako Sasaki.

The origami crane. I've folded many a crane in my life and I probably did so long before I had ever even heard of the word origami.

The crane is one of the classic patterns in Japanese origami and when folded up correctly, looks like the picture to the left.  I used to fold mine using notebook paper so my cranes always had blue lines running through them :-)

In Japanese culture, the crane symbolizes many things such as peace, longevity, and fortune.  In Japan, it is commonly said that folding 1000 paper origami cranes makes a person's wish come true. This makes them popular gifts for special friends and family.

In my hands, the paper crane doesn't really look like much but in the hands of an origami master like Robert J. Lang, the simple origami crane is elevated to new heights of beauty.  Here's his version which was folded from a single sheet of paper. 

Robert J. Lang's crane is rendered so beautifully that it puts the simple Japanese crane pattern, that we all follow, to shame.  If you know how to read origami crease patterns and you want to fold this crane, click here for the pattern.

Robert J. Lang is a fascinating person.  He started out his professional career as a physicist and an engineer.....a real geek.  But somewhere along the way, he got hooked onto origami and is now one of the preeminent artists in the discipline.  I first heard about him back in 2007 shortly after I returned from my trip to Egypt and Jordan.  My friend, Bob, had given me a copy of the Smithsonian Magazine.  It had article in it on Petra that Bob thought I would be interested in becauseI had visited it earlier in the year.  As I thumbed through the magazine, looking for the article on Petra, I came across the article on Robert J. Lang.  I had no idea who he was but of course, they had pictures of his work in the article and I must admit, I was completely mesmerized by what I saw.  Forget the words.  His creations were far more captivating to look at.  Having folded a simple crane myself, it was just amazing to me how he could take a sheet of paper and create a three dimensional rendering of so something as complex as beetle or a moose.  I found the article online and here's the link.  If you want to learn more about Robert J. Lang and see photos of his origami creations, click here to access his personal website.

Here's another version of the paper crane.  This was folded by two artists - Roman Diaz and Daniel Naranjo.  As beautiful as Robert J. Lang's rendition is, I think this one is even more beautiful.  The figure is more a delicate structure, less stiff and there's more grace and movement to the form.  Almost feels like this bird is ready to take flight.

But beauty of the simple paper crane aside, as I was researching the history of origami, I stumbled across a very heartwarming story about a little girl named Sadako Sasaki and one thousand paper cranes. 

Sadako Sasaki was two years old when the Allied forces dropped the atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945.  In an instant, the entire city was obliterated and on that tragic day, 140,000 civilians were killed.

The Sasaki family lived one mile from the spot where the bomb went off but Sadako and her parents managed to survive the nuclear attack.  But they could not avoid breathing the contaminated air that blanketed the city.

When Sadako was twelve years old, the devastating effects of the radiation poisoning from the atomic bomb finally took hold.  Sadako was diagnosed with a terminal case of of leukemia.

Sadako entered the Hiroshima Red Cross hospital for treatment where she spent her dying days.  A version of the story goes that in August 1955, Sadako's best friend Chizuko Hamamoto came to the hospital to visit and cut a piece of paper into a square to fold it into a paper crane in reference to the ancient Japanese story that promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane.  

The story goes that Sadako fell short of her goal of folding 1,000 cranes, having folded only 644 before her death in October 1955 and that her friends completed the 1,000 and buried them all with her.

After her death, Sadako's friends and schoolmates published a collection of letters in order to raise funds to build a memorial to her and all of the children who had died from the effects of the atomic bomb. In 1958, a statue of Sadako holding a paper crane was unveiled in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.  Now, when I see that statue in the park, I will know the heartwarming story behind it.

When I got to the end of Sadako's story,  I decided to not go any further in my research on the history of origami. No need to read more.  This story of a girl and a thousand papecranes was all I needed to know.

The way we go.

After doing some preliminary research on Japan, it didn't take me long to realize that although Japan is very modern county, it's one country that does not bow to the use of the English language. Not only was it going to be difficult to book rooms in ryokans and hotels because websites are only provided in Japanese and no one at the other end of the phone line speaks English, but it quickly became evident that transportation was going to be a challenge - especially in some of the smaller towns that I was interested in visiting.  Even navigating the Tokyo Metro is going to be a challenge.  After all, how many subway systems do you know that is so difficult to get around in that people feel compel to write *how-to* guides about it?  A simple guide is provided on the Tokyo Metro website.  What is probably a more realistic guide can be viewed on the Exploring Tokyo website.

So after great thought, I decided to focus my efforts on finding a conducted tour that would take me to the places that I wanted to go to. I have to admit that I loathe conducted bus style tours so I completely avoid those.  My two favorite companies - GAP Adventures and Intrepid Travel do offer tours to Japan but the prices seemed outrageous to me and neither offered an itinerary that really suited my desires.  So, I kept on searching.

Then one day, I stumbled across a website for a company called Samurai Tours which specializes in tours to Japan.  What attracted me to them was that they offered self guided tours which means they make all the hotel and transportation arrangements (including buying all the 14 day Japan Rail Pass as well as tickets for all the other modes of transportation that you be taking) but you are your own guide. Aside from breakfast, you are responsible for all your own meals and for all your entry fees.  Perfect for me!!  I ran the idea of the self guided tour by my brother and he was fine with it so I proceeded to work with Mike Roberts, the owner, to come up with an itinerary as well as accommodations.  I had a few requirements that Mike had to cater to and he was easily able to accommodate for everything I asked for.

I started with the template itinerary that Mike has and then made the adjustments I wanted.  So, here's the first cut of the itinerary which I just got from Mike today.

April 9. Arrive into Tokyo Narita Airport.
April 10-11.  Tokyo.
April 12.  Nikko (day trip from Tokyo).
April 13.  Hakone.
April 14 - 15.  Takayama.
April 16.  Koya-San.
April 17.  Osaka.
April 18.  Hiroshima.
April 19.  Miyajima Island (train and ferry from Hiroshima).
April 20.  Hiroshima.
April 21 - 23.  Kyoto.
April 24.  Narita Airport to catch flight home.

Though the first cut of the itinerary looks good, there are still some adjustments to be made but it's all coming together!

Update:  December 17
Final itinerary - after a round of changes.  Added a day trip from Kyoto to Nara on April 23.  Unfortunately, Mike could not book us into a ryokan in Takayama.  It's a very small town and I'm guessing that a lot of places are already booked up for the two day festival.  However,  he did manage to arrange for us to stay in a Buddhist temple in Koya-San (should be interesting) and in a modern ryokan in Kyoto.   With the itinerary nailed down, I can now focus on doing the rest of the planning!

A lesson in history. Shogunates and Periods.

Tokugawa Ieyasu

As I've been reading up on things to see, do and eat in Japan, it's turning into a one giant history lesson.

As I read up on the various temples and historic sites that considered "must-see's" in Japan, I would inevitably come across mention of a historic period. For example, Heian Period. I had no idea what that is. Then, every now and then, I would see mention of the Tokugawa Shogunate or the Ashikaga Shogunate. I have a vague idea of what a shogunate is but I have no idea of what, if anything, a shogunate has to do with the historic periods in Japanese history. Is there a correlation between the two? I set out to find out the answer to that question. That landed me chest deep into Japanese history :-)

First, let's start with the word "shogun" which is the title given to the military rulers of Japan.  The full title was Sei-i-tai Shogun (translates as "barbarian-subduing great general").  The title was passed from father to son.  With the exception of a 3 year period from 1333 to 1336, hereditary shoguns effectively controlled Japan - although always receiving formal authority from the Emperor.

By extension of definition, a shogunate ("bakufu" in Japanese) is defined as "the government, rule, or office of a shogun". 

There were three shogunates in Japan's history:

• The Kamakura Shogunate (1192-1333) which was established by Minamoto no Yoritomo but ruled by the Hojo clan after his death.
• The Ashikaga Shogunate (1338-1597) which was established and ruled by the family of the same name and based in Kyoto.
• The Tokugawa Shogunate (1600-1867) which was established and ruled by Tokugawa Ieyasu and  based in Edo which is present day Tokyo.

When the shoguns were not in power, the Emperor was.

The historic timeline of Japan goes back to 30,000 BC but the first period, Jōmon period, started around 300 BC.  The progression of periods and the ruling government is described in the table below which was extracted from a page on Japanese history posted on wikipedia.org.


The first shogunate to exist was the Kamakura Shogunate which was established in 1185.  Before the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate, civil power in Japan was primarily held by the ruling emperors and their regents, typically appointed from the ranks of the imperial court and the aristocratic clans that vied there. Military affairs were handled under the auspices of the civil government. However, after defeating the Taira clan in the Gempei War, Minamoto Yorimoto seized certain powers from the aristocracy in 1185 and was given the title of 1192. The system of government he established became formalized as the shogunate.  It is said that every shogun that ever ruled Japan was somehow descended from Minamoto no Yorimoto.

My history lesson on Shogunates and Periods was going swimmingly well until I got to the Muromachi Period.  It was the first instance in the timeline where there are defined sub-periods.  The early years (1336 to 1392) of the Muromachi period is known as the Nanboku-chō  (lit. "North and South courts") Period because during this time, there existed a North Imperial Court, established by Ashikaga Takauji in Kyoto, and the South Imperial Court, established by Emperor Go-Daigo in Yoshino. The two courts fought for 50 years, with the South conceding defeat to the North in 1392.

Ashikaga Takauji

The Muromachi Period was essentially Japan's "Golden Age".  Architecture, calligraphy, tea ceremony, dance, ikebana, and other aspects of artistic culture achieved prominence during this period.  Interest in Zen was renewed as were diplomatic relationships with China and both were strong influences during this period.  From a cultural perspective, the Muromachi Period was also subdivided into two periods....the Kitayama and Higashiyama Periods.

The Higashiyama Period, which covered the latter part of the Muromachi Period, gave birth to much of what is commonly seen today as traditional Japanese culture.  Kyoto was the base of the Ashikaga Shogunate so the historic landmarks that are there reflect either the Kitayama or the Higashiyama Period.  

The latter part of the Muromachi Period is known as the Sengoku Period (Period of Warring Kingdoms).  During this period, a central government had been largely reestablished by Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, central authority fell to Tokugawa Ieyasu who eventualy received the title of shogun.  Thus, the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Edo Period,which was the period the shogunate ruled in,came into being. The Tokugawa Shogunate was the last shogunate in Japanese history. It came to an official end in 1868, with the resignation of the 15th Tokugawa Shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu.


National Treasure
Nezame monogatari emaki
Picture Scroll of the Tale of Nezame
Heian period. 12th century

 As my knowledge and understanding of Japanese history grows, I'm getting more and more excited about going to Japan and seeing how it has influenced the country as I know it today!

Oh....and what about the Heian Period? That period that I knew nothing about? I now know. It's the last division of what is commonly referred to as Classical Japan.  The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō which is now present day Kyoto. The Heian Period is best remembered as the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height.  The Heian period is also considered the peak of the Japanese imperial and noted for its art, especially poetry and literature.

Home to Shingon Buddhism. Koyasan.

In just about every "must see places in Japan" type guide I've seen, Koyasan is on the list. I had never heard of the place so I decided to do some research to learn more about it and see if it's a place that's worth going to visit.

Turns out that Koyasan is the center of Shingon Buddhism, an important Buddhist sect which was introduced to Japan in 805 by Kobo Daishi, one of Japan's most significant religious figures. Koyasan is the small, secluded temple town has, over the centuries, sprung up around the sect's headquarters that Kobo Daishi built on Koyasan's wooded mountaintop.

Buried deep in the woods of Koyasan is the sacred temple of Okunoin which is said to be the highlight of any trip to this town and it is here that Kobo Daishi is enshrined.

But what is said to be a far more extraordinary sigh than Kobo Daishi's mausoleum is the immense cemetery leading up to the temple.  All along and around a 2km walk that winds its way trough  forest of giant cedar trees, which eventually ends at the mausoleum, are more than 300,000 gravestones and towers constructed as memorials over a period of around 1,000 years. Famous names, shoguns, samurai, high priests, and artists lie side by side among ordinary people. The walk through the forest has been described a both breathtaking both for being haunting and beautiful.  Wonder if you do it at night??  Now, that would be creepy but it could also be fun.  I must remember to pack in my flashlight :-)

Okunoin is where Kobo Daishi is entombed but his home was Danjo Garan which, today, is a sacred complex of temples.

Legend has it that in the 9th century, Kobo Daishi was studying in China.  One day he threw his sankosho, ceremonial Buddhist tool,  towards Japan.  When he returned to Japan, he went in search of a place to be the headquarter his new religion.  Eventually, he came across his sankosho stuck in the branches of a pine tree in Koyasan and decided to build Danjo Garan on that spot.   Danjo Garan consists of nearly twenty different structures including the magnificent Konpon Daito, a 45 meter tall, two tiered, pagoda.

Also located in Koyasan is the Kongobuji which is  the head temple of Shingon Buddhism.  The first of a series of temples was built on this site in 1131.  Under the oversight of the different leaders and administration, the temple was rebuilt and renamed over the course of time.  The temple complex and its name has remained unchanged since 1868.

In addition to the main temple, the complex also has a large karesansui garden called Banryu-tei. It is Japan's largest (2340 square meters), with 140 granite stones arranged to suggest a pair of dragons emerging from clouds to protect the temple.

From all that I've read about Koyasan, it is one of the places in Japan where you get to spend the night in a Buddhist temple.  About half of the 100 temples in Koysan offer accommodations to travellers. 

Temple accommodations are called shukubo.  The concept of providing accommodations inside a temple's complex originally began in the Heian period (794-1192) as a lodging for worshippers to temples. Shukubo is similar to traditional Japanese inns, and anyone can stay regardless of his or her religion. In temples, you can join in their Zen meditation. Also, in some shukubo, shojin ryori (vegetarian meal for monks) is served.  After having checked out a few shukubo, they are not cheap places to stay....especially considering they are on a religious site.  But I don't care,  I think the experience will be an interesting one so I've put in on my list of things to book a night's stay in one.